Means for loading fasteners in stapling devices



y 1956 H. J. SPENCER 2,755,473

MEANS FOR LOADING FASTENERS IN STAPLING DEVICES Filed Aug. 23, 1952 l g INVEN TOR.

Unite States Patent MEANS FOR LOADING FASTENERS IN STAPLING DEVICES Herman I. Spencer, Iugomar, Pa.

Application August 23, 1952, Serial No. 305,943

6 Claims. (Cl. 1-49) This invention relates to fastener applying devices in which staples or other type fasteners are fed along a fastener guide to an ejection shute and are then acted upon by a driver to drive the fastener from the device.

One object of this invention is to provide a means for holding the fasteners in alignment on a fastener guide with the means being movable a short distance transversely in the device from a holding position which overlies the fasteners on the guide to a position which exposes the guide to permit fasteners to be placed thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide means whereby retraction of a fastener pusher for the purpose of loading the machine will act to move the hold-down means to a locked position in the magazine.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates a present preferred embodiment of my invention- Figure 1 is vertical longitudinal section through the device showing the fastener pusher pulled rearwardly to its held position and as having urged the hold-down members transversely to a position which exposes the fastener guide to permit fasteners to be placed thereon.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 11-11 of Figure 1, certain parts being omitted for clearness of illustration;

Figure 3 is a horizontal longitudinal section taken on line Ill-HI of Figure l, certain parts being omitted for clearness of illustration;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on line IV-lV of Figure l, to illustrate a staple S being placed onto the fastener guide and showing the hold-down member as being moved transversely from overlying the guide, certain parts being omitted which have no bearing on the disclosure;

Figure 5 is a side elevation in section, Figure 6 is an end view of Figure 5 looking to the left, and Figurev 7 is a top view of Figure 5 looking downward of the holddown member;

Figure 8 is an isometric view of the fastener pusher used in the device.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the base 2 of the machine constitutes a staple magazine in which a stick of staples is inserted and the individual staples are fed forwardly to a staple ejection shute below a staple driving blade and there acted upon by the driving blade to eject the staple from the device. The staple magazine 2 is made from a U-shaped base member having a web portion 2a and running parallel with each other it has two side-walls 2b substantially the full length of the device. A U-shaped hold-down member 3 (Figures 5 and 6) has a web portion 3a and two flexible vertically extending side flanges 3b which extend the full length of the magazine 2. The greater part of the length of the upper edges of flanges 3b are formed inwardly towards each other a short distance and then downward a short distance at an angle to the vertical towards its web 3a to form an angled section 3h, for reasons to be explained. The edges 3:! of ends 30 act as a means for holding the fasteners in alignment on a staple guide. Notice in 2,755,473 Patented July 24, 1956 Figure 5 that flanges 3b of hold-down member 3 have openings 3g to weaken their resilient strength.

A staple guide 4 is a U-shaped channel member which extends substantially the full length of magazine 2 with its forward end terminating at the staple driving throat. The guide 4 has a web portion 4a and two upwardly extending parallel side portions 4b whose upper edges 40 underlie and are spaced apart from hold-down member edges 3d to form a passage-Way for the crown of the staples S.

The hold-down members 3 web 3a is secured centrally between the magazines side-walls 2b with its flanges 3b extending longitudinally in line with the magazines sidewalls 2b. The staple guides web 4a is centrally placed on and secured to the hold-down members web portion 3a with its side portions 4b extending longitudinally in line with and underlying edges 3d of the hold-down memher 3. The 3b of the hold-down member 3 are made from spring steel and it will be apparent that pressure exerted against the hooked ends 30 anywhere along the length of the latter will move edges 30! transversely from overlying guite 4, as shown in Figure 2, to that shown in Figure 4, which is to each side of guide 4. l t will also be apparent that the pressure against the cam surface 312 on the hold-down members hooked ends 3c can be obtained by the legs of the staples S when a stick of the latter is placed onto guide bar 4 from above between hooked ends 30. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 8, the fastener pusher .5 has a finger-grip 5a at its rearward and extending upwardly from its web portion Sb and extending downwardly has two parallel flanges 50 which, when in the machine, the flanges 5c lie along the outside of staple guide side portion 4b with the underside of the pusher web 5b resting on the staple guide edges 4c. The staple pusher 5 is of inverted U shape in cross-section and is of the same configuration as the staples S and the pusher is moved forwardly towards the staple driving throat by a coil spring 6. One end 7 of spring 6 is secured to an upturned end located at the rearward end and a part of guide 4 and the other end 3 of spring 6 is secured to lug 10 formed downwardly from the pusher web 5b. Intermediate its ends, spring 6 is looped around a pulley 1.1, the latter being mounted on pin 12 between the staple guides upturned side portions db adjacent the staple driving throat. The sideward edges 13 on the pusher finger-grip 50 when the latter is pulled rearwardly, contacts the hold-down members cam edges 3-2 and thereby moves the latter members edges 3d transversely from overlying guide 4 to the position shown in Figure 4, which is to either side of guide 4. Notice in Figure 3 and Figure 7 that rearwardly from the hold-down members cam edges 3e, the edge 15 runs longitudinally in the machine and that this edge then extends transversely at 16 towards the center of the device to form an abutment for stopping the pusher finger-grip So to keep the latter from being pulled out of the rearward end of the machine.

Notice in Figure l and Figure 5 that the sto guides side portions 4b are beveled at 4d and that hold-down members edges 3a are notched at 3f for reasons to be explained. In Figure 8, the pusher 5 is shown as having lugs 5d which extend outwardly beyond the general contour of the pusher and that these lugs 5d are adapted to engage the hold-down members notches 3f when the pusher 5 has been manually moved rearwardly and tilted into the position shown in Figure 1. It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the pusher is in the rearward tilted position, spring end 8 will not be able to move the pusher towards the ejection shute end of the device but will act to hold the pusher in this retained position.

At the forward end of the implement there is provided a cover having a front wall 17a and side walls 17 and the side walls are secured to the outside walls 2b of the magazine in any suitable manner. A channel-shaped spacer plate 14 is secured to and between the side walls 17 with its web spaced apart from web 17a but in line with the latter to form a driver guide space 1? above the staple driving throat 29. A plunger 21 has a driver blade 22 attached thereto and both are reciprocably mounted in the driver guide space 19. A pin 23 extends through blade 22, plunger 21 and into closed end slots 24 and 25 in web 170 and the web of the spacer plate 14, respectively, to limit the movement of the driver in the machine. The spacer plate 14 at its lower end has a tongue 27 extending horizontally towards the front wall or web 17a which is adapted to guide the rearward side of the driver blade 22. The magazines side-walls 212 at their staple driving throat end have flanges l8 turned inwardly and the inward vertical edges 26 act as side guides of the staple driving throat through which fasteners and the driver blade 22 move.

In the operation of the device when the staples have been exhausted, the pusher will be at the forward end of the magazine, and in order to again load the implement the pusher is pulled rearwardly by its finger-grip So until the latters edges 13 contact the cam bevel edges 3e (Figure 7) and thus urges the hold down members edges 3d transversely from a position overlying the staple guide 4, as shown in Figure 4. Upon further retraction of the pusher 5 it is arrested by the hold down abutment stop edges 16. When the pusher is stopped by abutment edges, manual pressure on finger-grip 511 will rock the pusher on staple guide beveled edges 4a and thereby raise the lugs 5d of the pusher 5 into hold-down notches 31 and the pull of feeder spring end S on pusher 5 will hold the latter against notches 3f. A stick of staples is placed on the guide 4 between the pusher 5 and the ejection shute end of the device, the pusher 5 is then tilted to a horizontal position to disengage pusher lugs 5d from hold-down notches 3i and the feeder spring end 8 urges the pusher 5 towards the ejection shute and off of hold-down edges and earn edges 32, thereby allowing the resilient hold-down members to move towards each other to overlie the staples on guide 4 and to thereafter urge the staples S towards the ejection shute to be ejected one at a time by action of the driving blade 22.

It will be understood from the description so far that were the hold-down cam edges 3e eliminated, hold-down members edges 3d would not be moved from overlying the staple guide 4 by action of the pusher 5, when the pusher 5 is moved to the rearward end of the magazine. However, as explained previously, the staples on being pushed towards the guide bar would strike the angled surface 3!: on the hold-down members hooked ends 3c and cam the latter transversely from overlying to one side of the staple guide 4, thereby permitting the staples to be placed on the guide.

I claim:

1. In a fastener applying device, a frame, a staple driving throat at the forward end of said frame, a fastener guide secured in said frame, a hold-down means mounted for transverse movement relative to said guide means for overlying the latter, and adapted to hold fasteners in proper alignment on said guide means substantially the latters full length, a fastener pusher means riding on said fastener guide and spring means adapted to urge said pusher to advance staples to said throat, cooperating cam means between said pusher and said holddown means adapted to urge the latter means to move transversely in relation to said fastener guide to expose the latter to permit loading of fasteners thereon during manual movement of said pusher means away from said throat.

2. A fastener applying device as in claim 1 further characterized by said hold down means being of resilient material so as to return to its overlying position over said fastener guide upon movement of said pusher towards said driver throat.

3. In a fastener applying device, a frame, a throat at the forward end of said frame, a fastener guide in said frame, a fastener pusher means and spring means adapted to urge said pusher to advance fasteners along said guide to said throat, a holddown means overlying and adapted thereby to hold fasteners in proper alignment along the length of said guide, flexible means mounting said holddown means to thereby permit its entire overlying length to be moved an equal distance simultaneously across the length of said guide to expose the latter to permit loading or removal of fasteners from said guide.

4. A fastener applying device as in claim 3 further characterized by abutment means on said hold-down means cooperating with means on said pusher to stop movement of said pusher away from said throat upon movement of said pusher away from said throat.

5. A fastener applying device as in claim 3 further chacacterized by said hold-down means being of resilient material for urging said hold-down means into its fastener retaining position, cam surface means on said hold-down means which adapts the latter to be urged transversely by fasteners being placed on said fastener guide means.

6. A fastener applying device as in claim 3 further characterized by pusher retaining means on said holddown means cooperating with means on said pusher to releasably hold said pusher from being urged towards said throat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,469,985 Pankonin May 10, 1949 2,542,879 Peterson Feb. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 722,402 Germany July 9, 1942 

